#Wei Wuxian tries to be helpful

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Don't Wormy About Me.

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[thatswhatsushesaid]

cql, aka the most "use your words and be kind to children" show of all time

[mostlikelytofangirl]

I love JC and W/W/X's mess primarily as platonic but I can't deny the eroticism of putting your organ in your bestie. XD

Some shippers have compared them to the couple from Wuthering Heights and while I never finished reading that so I can't comment, I can appreciate the gothic horror vibes.

-Regular Anon

Hi there, anon!

Oh, absolutely. Lol JC and WWX are a wonderful disaster whether as ship or platonic, and I very much appreciate every interpretation bc the amount of emotions and baggage there is off charts and I'm all for it!

Their tragedy is one of the most fascinating parts of the story imo bc of how rich and complex their dynamics are, I could read a book only about them :D

I'm gonna be honest with you chief, I have never willingly consumed anything related to Wuthering Heights ^^;. I know it's like an english classic or something, but I guess it's not that popular on my side of the globe :P, everything I know of it is from pop culture and tv parodies, so I can't comment on it either lol

[llycaons]

the other moral of the night is that bitches will take literally any excuse to ship two men together

[lilnasxvevo]

I don’t think Jiang Cheng and Lan Wangji have actually stonily ignored each other for 16 straight years since Wei Wuxian died. I think their relationship has ebbed and flowed and changed shape several times, and that they’ve reluctantly worked together in situations where they’ve realized “ugh, That Fucking Guy is the only other person in this room with the Correct Opinion,” and most importantly I think they have a huge argument every few years to keep the loathing fresh and alive.

They’ve actually put a lot of work into their relationship, but the work they’ve put in is purely to maintain as much animosity between them as possible. And that is why they seem so very divorced.

[kaptainkoalaoshiz]

Ough ough

But you know what could be worse? Wei Wuxian knowing of his unrequited (from his and a lot of other people's pov since Lan Zhan never acknowledged his feelings out loud) love for Lan Wangji, feeling deep down that him marrying Nie Mingju is not right but knowing that it's Lan Zhan's choice.

Also, he can't say anything because he's now half the man he was before, hollowed out by his own volition, filled to the brim with (literal) ghosts and going to die way sooner than Lan Wangji. He felt like there was something/someone to hold his hand after the Burial Mound in Lan Zhan, but this points out that, no, he has no one anymore.

So he fights with abandon and if he dies fighting Wen Ruohan, that's with a song on his lips and the ghost of fingers threading through his hair.

the one that got away

"i write the regrets of our love on burning paper and send its ashes to your new lover."

: au where lwj gets betrothed to nmj post-burning of cloud recesses for political reasons. Cue unrealized wangxian AND nielan 🤩😍

wonderful threadfic available on twitter by happyyycaat! 😍

[muqingapologist]

i think it’s interesting how people often characterize lan wangji’s perspective of wei wuxian during and after the yiling laozi arc like “free my man, he did nothing wrong.” but to me, i feel like this is just selling short his character and his devotion to wwx. the way i see it, when wei wuxian is at his worst and in the years after when wwx comes back, lan wangji isn’t condoning his actions of that era. it’s more like, “i know you were trying to do the right thing, and things spiraled out of control, and i failed to help you back then, and i won’t fail you again.” it’s not wei wuxian’s actions that lan wangji is so defensive of but his intentions. even if lwj didn’t know at the time (and even when he comes back, at first) why wwx chose the ghostly path and gave up righteous cultivation, he has an unshakeable faith in wwx’s moral code, that wwx will do what he feels is right. or at least, doing what he thinks he needs to do to survive. this doesn’t necessarily mean that lan zhan thinks what wwx did as his mental state eroded WAS right. we see this so many times when lan zhan tries to help him, hoping that wwx will return to gusu with him. it’s not until it’s too late, when wwx is truly breaking down, that he understands that that wasn’t the right way to help wwx. the right way is to just be there for him, which is what he does when wwx returns. letting wwx make his own decisions while showing him that there is still someone who believes in him. imo this is much more meaningful than the other interpretation that i see a lot that i mentioned above. it’s about being there for wei wuxian even if he does make the wrong decisions because at the end of the day he knows that wwx, at his core, has good intentions.

[yourcrumblingsaikiisnotmyproblem]

here's a few reminders for the mxtx fandom

1. Wei Wuxian had 2 older sister figures in his life and they both died trying to save him and in the end failed since he died anyway. (RIP Wen Qing and Jiang Yanli)

2. Mu Qing only ever had his mom other than XL and FX and she died a mortal death. We don't know anything about FX's mortal family.

3. Wen Ning was experimented on for 13 years in captivity after seeing his sister's ashes and blames himself still for wwx's downfall

4. He Xuan cannot leave the world even after his revenge to Shi Wudu and is purposeless for all of his immortal life.

5. Jin Ling will never taste his mom's handmade favourite soup.

6. Canon Feng Xin and Mu Qing do not know what happened at the temple to Xie Lian.

7. Jiang Cheng will probably never be good enough in his own eyes (until he has like grand-nephews or something)

8. Shi Qingxuan will (probably) die a mortal death.

9. Some of Nie Huaisang's last words to Nie Mingjue were that he never wanted to be a clan leader.

10. XL and WWX both tried to protect a certain demographic that got wiped out anyway and made them public enemies and reason for their eventual downfall making it essentially ineffective.

11. All the calamities are actually gods who could or did ascend heaven.

12. Xiao Xingchen killed himself after finding out he wiped out villages full of innocent people and his own best friend who he gave up his eyes for. And realising his pursuit of helping the world was worthless.

[mamoonde]

i really really want more modern cultivation au secret genius wei wuxian who just drops mind-blowing revolutionary theories and innovations anonymously under a stupid ass middle school pen name like yLlingla0zuxX

comical plot twist:

lan qiren has a secret hobby ever since he discovered the joys of Online Cultivation Forums, especially one where he can scout for people with Massive Potential and/or Brilliant Ideas and offer to help them formalize their ideas into actual Papers (or discover Horrible ones and send them better reference materials).

of course, Internet etiquette sanctifies anonymity so lan qiren doesn't press for personal information from the few brilliant minds he meets. he has a good instinct for identifying the younger ones from the tried and true experts, and this yLlingla0zuxX clearly is an esteemed veteran.

his methods may seem scattered, but lan qiren is Most Willing to Invest in the Time to help this esteemed cultivator get the merit and proper consideration his ideas deserve. under the very proper alias: GrandArchivist.

GrandArchivist reaches out to yLlingla0zuxX offering to help him flesh out his innovations so yLlingla0zuxX can get it published and patented as Proper.

yLlingla0zuxX is reluctant at first, but agrees to do it. he shares a gee doc link.

it takes a while, but - between lan qiren's initial bafflement at real-time collaboration and yLlingla0zuxX's erratic and rambling thoughts - they manage to publish it.

offscreen:

GrandArchivist reaches out to his nephew A-Huan how this gee doc works and if he's Sure it's not a bad virus or phishing scam link or anything. he opens the link to see. bulleted paragraphs??? paragraphed bullet points??? either way, the most horrible draft he's ever seen... typing itself???? a-huan, are you certain this yLlingla0zuxX has not hacked my computer?

[amorremanet]

jiang cheng couldn’t have handled losing his golden core yes unlike wei wuxian who infamously handled it so freaking well 

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

This was home.

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[randomness-is-my-order]

i think one of the most wonderful traits of wei wuxian is how socially competent he is, which is why it always annoys me if he is mischaracterized as someone who is unaware about how those around him feel, just because of the way his relationship with lan wangji pans out in the books. the dynamic between them was extremely multifaceted and what seemed obvious to us was very rightfully NOT obvious to wei wuxian and he hardly had time to sort those feelings out, given the kind of harrowing ordeals he was going through. but that aside–the way wei wuxian’s “social competence” manifests isn’t just social courage–in that, the risk of embarassment or self-consciousness doesn’t stop his self expression–or just his general forwardness and social butterfly tendencies but also–and imo, most importantly–his perceptiveness and astute reading of people around him which comes from a deep understanding of the human social element, at the individual and the societal level.

he has full awareness of how his station is looked down upon in the cultivation world and so while others in his situation may bend or break–wei wuxian cleverly toes the line between the two until taking a stance becomes necessary. he deeply understands the ugly dynamics running within the jiang family and clan and acts accordingly–be it his prompt efforts to placate jiang cheng or his conscious silence when madame yu is in a mood or even his acceptance of the whipping in lieu of restoring stability for the clan. despite his personal biases against jin zixuan, he can recognise his bravery. even his scandalous move to begin undressing in the cave shows that he knows exactly what would make lan wangji tick.

hell, i’d say even his initial thought about how the resentment of the dead can be redirected towards a target shows his striking comprehension of how emotions work in general. what’s more, he’s able to recognise the machinations nie huaisang had employed and he was also aware of the bigger picture associated with how fickle and easily swayed mob mentality was when everyone took part in bashing jin guangyao when certain truths came to light. when he was first brought back to life, he quickly and correctly deduced what kind of life mo xuanyu must have led and how he could act in order to easily humiliate the mo family. he empathised with jin ling and yet realised how he was brought up left something to be desired and so, tried to inculcate some of his own highly regarded values to him.

the deft manner in which he handled the juniors speaks for itself–a good teacher will always have good communication skills and wei wuxian went above and beyond just “good”. his people skills on nighthunts are extremely helpful–his ability to make tongues loose simply by charming people is highlighted more than once. just off the top of my head–him politely appealing to jin guangshan about the wen remnants and apologising for “intruding”, him readily handing in his sword at the indoctrination camps, him suggesting to jiang cheng that he should leave the clan once he was at the burial mounds–all of this (and much much more) demonstrates wei wuxian’s competence at guaging complex social dynamics, which is why, when he goes against the current and stands firm, it is a deliberate, well thought out decision, one made after considering the risks and repercussions, and that makes wei wuxian’s stance at the end that much more powerful. he is not stumbling his way through life, is not unheeding of his social status, is not a “mad genius with poor social skills”. hell, i would say wei wuxian’s ability to see straight through people is more impressive than even his insane intellect and to reduce that aspect of him feels like a disservice to his character. because when it comes down to it, the fact of the matter is that the murky social world through wei wuxian’s lens is actually astonishingly clear.

[whetstonefires]

When we're looking at why Wei Wuxian took so long to even consider that Lan Wangji might really like him, I think we should maybe place more weight on that time when they were trapped in a cave together at around age eighteen, and Lan Wangji told him his dad was dying and started to cry and Wei Wuxian was like SHIT and fidgeted awkwardly for a while like ahhhhh I hate when people cry especially men what do I do????

And then he tried to find something to say and Lan Wangji was like 'shut up' and he shut up, and Lan Wangji said 'you're a loathsome person' and he shut up so hard he left him alone for three entire days.

Like if I spent three days trapped in hell with someone, restraining myself from reaching out for human interaction because not subjecting them to my personality was literally the only thing I could do to help with their state of misery.

I would have a real hard time letting go of the understanding that the thing this person wanted from me was not to have to deal with me.

[mxtxfanatic]

When Wei Wuxian Stops Giving a Fuck

Wei Wuxian spends 95% of the novel being so polite and charming and funny and kind that I think people honestly forget how terrifying and decisive he can be once you exhaust his patience. These are some of my favorite moments when Wei Wuxian stops being nice to people who absolutely never deserved it:

Wei Wuxian found the scene unbearable. “After so many years, the Lan family is still like this,” he thought to himself. “They’re still affecting that stupid, undying self-restraint. Hmph. Watch this!” He spat at Lady Mo and said, “Who the hell do you think you’re screaming at? Do you think they’re your servants? These people traveled through half the country in order to help you for free. What exactly do they owe you? How old is your honorable son? He should be at least seventeen this year, right? And he’s still ‘a child?’ How old does he have to be to understand human speech? Yesterday, didn’t these cultivators say several times not to touch anything or approach the western courtyard? Because your son couldn’t stop himself from pilfering what isn’t his, as though he were a starving dog stealing chickens in the night, you’re blaming me? You’re blaming them?”

—Chapt. 4: Feral III, fanyiyi

[Jin Zixuan's] blood grew hot and he blurted out, “If she’s unhappy, then let her break off the engagement! I certainly don’t cherish your wonderful shijie. If you cherish her so much, why don't you take it up with your father? Doesn’t he love you more than his own son?” After hearing the last sentence, Jiang Cheng’s eyes narrowed, and Wei Wuxian was no longer able to contain his own fury. He flew at Jin Zixuan, his fist raised. Though Jin Zixuan had been prepared to defend himself, he hadn’t expected Wei Wuxian to hit back so quickly. The attack started before he had even finished speaking, and when the fist struck him it immediately caused half his face to go numb.

—Chapt. 18: Elegance VIII, fanyiyi

Wen Chao’s complexion switched between red and white. Wei WuXian added, “Right, what was the accusation given to those who insult famous cultivators of the Wen Sect again? How should they be punished? I remember that it was execution, right? Yes, very well, you can go die now.” Wen Chao couldn’t hold himself back any longer, unsheathing his sword and lunging at Wei WuXian. With that, he lunged out of Wen ZhuLiu’s range of protection. Wen ZhuLiu had always been used to defending against the attacks of others. He had never expected Wen Chao to leave by his own will. Facing the sudden difficulty, he somehow couldn’t react in time. On the other hand, as Wei WuXian provoked Wen Chao, he was precisely waiting for the moment of uncontrollable rage. The smile by his lips didn’t falter at all as he attacked with the speed of lightning. In a split second, he had snatched the sword and reversed the situation, subduing Wen Chao with just one move!

—Chapt. 53: Courage, exr

After he said a few harsh words to her, standing where she was, Jiang YanLi had burst into tears. When Wei WuXian returned, this happened to be the scene that he saw. Although his shijie had an easy temper, except for how they cuddled and cried together the day the three of them reunited after Lotus Pier was destroyed, she hadn’t really shed many tears in front of others, much less cry so loudly, so pitifully in front of so many people. Wei WuXian was filled with panic. As he tried to ask her, Jiang YanLi was crying so badly that she couldn’t even speak properly. Then, when he saw Jin ZiXuan standing on the side, astonished, he fumed with anger, wondering to himself why it was the dog of a person again. With a kick, he pounced on Jin ZiXuan. The fight between the two would have alerted the Heavens. All of the cultivators around the base came to break up their fight. Amid the ruckus, he finally understood what was the cause of all this, and became even more angered. He spread his tough talk, saying that one day he’d definitely make Jin ZiXuan die in his hands, he told people to drag out the cultivator woman. A round of questions later, the truth emerged, and Jin ZiXuan’s entire body was frozen. No matter how much Wei WuXian continued to curse at him, he returned neither words nor fists, his face dark.

—Chapt. 69: Departure, exr

Hearing this, Wei WuXian’s smile disappeared at once. He asked, “Discipline?” He turned his head slowly, “A crooked path?” Lan WangJi’s voice was low, “Wei Ying.” Jin ZiXun and the others noticed the unusual atmosphere as well. Holding their breaths, they looked at him. Wei WuXian smiled again, “Do you know why I’m not carrying my sword? It wouldn’t make a difference if I told you anyways.” He turned around, stating one word at a time, “Because I want you to know that even if I don’t use my sword, with nothing but what you call a ‘crooked path’, I will still rise unparalleled and leave all of you staring at me from behind.” With his words, all of the people present were shocked speechless.

—Chapt. 70: Departure, exr

Wei WuXian, “Cut the nonsense. I’m sure everyone knows that my patience is limited. Where is he? With so much time wasted on you, I’ll give you three. Three!” Jin ZiXun wanted to resist, but when he saw Jin GuangShan’s face, he felt his heart shiver. Wei WuXian began again, “Two!” Jin ZiXun finally yelled, “... Fine! Fine! It’s just a few Wen- dogs. Take them if you want to. I’m not fooling around with you any longer! Go find them at Qiongqi Path on your own!” Wei WuXian laughed coldly, “If only you said it sooner.”

...

The group felt their scalps tingle and their blood run cold. The head inspector stammered, “The YunmengJiang Sect and the LanlingJin Sect have been getting along with each other. You mustn’t...” Hearing this, Wei WuXian glanced at him, his tone amused, “You’re quite brave. Are you threatening me?” The head inspector hurried, “Of course not, of course not.” Wei WuXian, “Congratulations to you for successfully draining all my patience. Since you don’t want to speak up, let’s let him answer on his own.” As though it’d been waiting for his words for a long time, Wen Ning’s frozen corpse suddenly moved, raising its head. Before the two nearest inspectors could even scream, each of their throats was clenched by a hand as firm as iron. ... He suddenly spun around, putting his hand on Wen Ning’s shoulder before shouting, “Wen QiongLin!” As if a reply, Wen Ning let out a long, thundering roar. The ears of everyone within the valley ached. Wei WuXian spoke one word at a time, “Whoever caused all of you to be like this, let them meet the same end. I give you the right to do so. Settle everything!” Hearing this, Wen Ning immediately crashed the two inspectors that he was holding together. Like exploding watermelons, the two heads immediately let out a loud bang, sending red and white flying everywhere.

—Chapt. 72: Recklessness, exr

He walked beside the person whose words were the harshest and ground his foot against the person’s face, laughing, “Talk. Why aren’t you talking anymore? Mr. Hero, just what are you going to do to me?!” The person’s nasal bones had broken from the force, bleeding and screaming uncontrollably. Many cultivators were watching from on top of the city gate. They wanted to help, but they didn’t dare approach the scene. One of them shouted from afar, “Wei... Wei Ying! If you’re really that strong, why don’t you go find those sect leaders participating in the pledge conference? What could you prove by picking on us low-level cultivators with no power to fight back?” Wei WuXian let out another short whistle. The cultivator who shouted felt as a hand suddenly tugged him down. He fell off the city gate, breaking both of his legs, and began to scream. Amid the wails, Wei WuXian’s expression didn’t change at all, “Low-level cultivators? Do I have to tolerate you, just because you’re low-level cultivators? If you dared say those things, you had to dare shoulder the consequences. If you knew that you were insignificant pieces of scum as filthy as ants, how come you didn’t know to think before you speak?!” Everyone was as pale as ash, making not a single noise. A moment later, when Wei WuXian didn’t hear any more chatter, he continued in satisfaction, “Yes, that’s the spirit.”

—Chapt. 77: Nightfall, exr

One of the cultivators who stood in the front rows of one of the arrays commented bitterly, “Wei Ying, you disappoint me so much. There used to be a time when I admired you and said that at least you were someone who founded your own sect. Now that I think about it, it’s almost repulsive. From this moment on, I’ll forever stand on the opposite side of you!” Hearing this, Wei WuXian first paused, but soon exploded with laughter, “Hahahaha...” He laughed so hard that he almost couldn’t breathe, “You admired me? You said you admired me, but why haven’t I ever seen you when you admired me? And as soon as I’m loathed by everyone, you jump out and wave your little flag?” Tears of laughter seeped from the corners of Wei WuXian’s eyes, “Your admiration as a bit too cheap, isn’t it? You said that you’ll forever stand on the opposite side of me. Very well. Does the fact that you’re standing on the opposite side of me affect me at all? Both your admiration and your hatred are so, so insignificant. How could you be so shameless as to flaunt them in front of others?”

—Chapt. 78: Nightfall, exr

Just because a person is kind does not mean that they are unconditionally kind. Nobody is obligated to tolerate bullshit forever, and I am really glad that mxtx wrote Wei Wuxian as a character with clear boundaries, limits, and an understanding of when he needs to remind people who tf he is.

[allpiesforourown]

Shen Yuan chose to do the right thing and be kind over and over again in the book even at the expense of himself so I feel you about your “oblivious” post. He’s usually oblivious to his own feelings and to people trying to push romance on him from what I can remember.

Like he’s basically a celebrity in my mind if that makes sense? He shows up fixes something or helps someone wows them than leaves. Owes no one absolutely nothing.

I think one of my favourite things about mxtx's works is that her protagonists truly embody the phrase "no good deed goes unpunished."

Shen Yuan helped Zuzhi Lang and was repaid by being branded a criminal.

Wei Wuxian helped the Wens because it was the right thing to do, and became the enemy of the cultivation world.

Xie Lian tried to save Xianle instead of staying a god, and in the end he was banished from heaven and lost his nation.

It's tragic but also a breath of fresh air to see things ending realistically instead of the predictable "the hero did something good so everyone loves them for it" trope. Instead it shows how breaking off parts of yourself to help others ultimately backfires and makes things worse. That being said, her characters never stop being good and kind people and they do eventually get their happy endings with the person they love. That makes mxtx's writing so special to me

[batbusiness-schooldropout]

Jiang Cheng: I don't get it! You all love Wei Wuxian! Even Teacher Lan says that he is invaluable! But all I've seen him do is corral some brats and goof off!

Lan Xichen: Firstly, "corralling some brats" is in itself an invaluable skill-

Jiang Cheng: Sure it is. Are Lan children even capable of running?

Lan Xichen: -Secondly, Wei Wuxian's most important task is managing Brother

Jiang Cheng: That rule stickler? A bucket of sand could manage him!

Lan Xichen: Every discussion conference, my brother threatens to speak his mind about those in attendance. He has repeatedly said that he wants to challenge everyone who speaks to him to a duel. And I personally have listened to him say how much he would love to punch those who disrespect his husband. Wei Wuxian is the reason why certain sect leaders are still in one piece

Jiang Cheng:

Lan Xichen: I've seen the research he's put into finding the most relaxing tea blends, how much work he puts into leading Brother away from those he dislikes, and I've tried helping him with the seating arrangements. You may rest assured that when Wei Wuxian isn't "goofing off," he is doing the work of ten men.